The Only Voice That Matters

One of my favorite writers on Substack, Ed Rettig over at Anan Sahade has just written a surprising piece where he makes the argument that the outcome of the legal cases against Netanyahu, whatever it turns out to be, can only be bad for Israel. In it he questions the wisdom of bringing the charges at all, and is maybe hinting that they should be dropped. For the good of the country. As usual, Ed makes a powerful argument. It is a must read. Here is the link.

Ed and I are almost always at odds—respectfully—on everything to do with Israeli politics, except for the need to extend a hand of brotherhood to our ideological opponents in the realization that we are all in the same boat. I was surprised that Ed is suggesting that Netanyahu should be let off the hook. That is not something that anyone on the Israeli left is allowed to suggest. But there it is. In writing. I imagine that he is gritting his teeth as he suggests it, but he suggests it all the same. And as for all that concerning the lawfare against Netanyahu, I find myself in agreement with Ed, though not with his assessment that it was Netanyahu’s low-grade character that led him into his legal complications.

If I disagree with something here, it would be with the nuance of his opening disclaimer: “If he had integrity, he would have resigned over a year ago when the 7th of October showed that his three central long-term policies had failed catastrophically.” Personal integrity is not a part of the DNA of most Israeli politicians. Regardless, in this case there is no need to reference it at all, because the focus of all political discussion in Israel must remain on the events of Oct 7 and on those directly responsible until they are all removed from positions of decision-making. By saying that Netanyahu should have resigned, and not insisting that he should resign immediately, even at this late date, Ed is giving Netanyahu a pass on the one thing for which he should be held accountable. Also, by focusing on the moral imperative for Netanyahu to resign without mentioning the others responsible is the best way to insure that Netanyahu’s supporters would circle the wagons around him instead of calling for him to step down, something that all but the hard-core Netanyahu supporters might have supported. But even here I find myself aligned with Ed—while gritting my own teeth—because how can we expect the myriads involved with this fiasco to resign if the head honcho doesn’t?

The whole upper echelon of the Israeli leadership, from the intelligence, military, legal and political fields should resign. Or, they should have immediately tendered their resignations on Oct. 8, pending an orderly transfer of their positions. One did, but he is still at his post. Evidently they haven’t been able to find a replacement for him in over a year. He failed miserably, but he is still giving orders. That this is happening is, unfortunately, not surprising. The force demanding change has to come from the other direction, from the bottom up. A healthy, un-traumatized populace would have been demanding these resignations ceaselessly since that fateful day, and would have refused to take another breath on this earth until not one familiar face was left at the top. Alas, we are not healthy, and we are traumatized.

The symptom and the root cause of a sick Israeli populace is just that: we are not demanding a changing of the guard. Cynically, we can understand why the leadership does not want to take responsibility. Who wants to go down in history as being the one on watch when the monsters invaded our living rooms? Hundreds and hundreds of living rooms. Even worse, who wants to go down in history as being on watch after the alarm was sounded, and not providing a reaction force—no air force, no armor, no nothing—while the invaders took their time “preaching Palestine” to Israeli citizens?

That is the measure of the Israeli trauma. It is unignorable, but it has been ignored for over a year. There is endless talk of independent investigations, something very familiar to Israelis from past debacles. In this case they are a waste of time. The truth has been hanging out like an invisible flag of shame and embarrassment over the entire nation of Israel since Oct. 7: Israel can be hurt, badly, and those who were in charge when this was so cruelly demonstrated to us are still trying to right their wrongs. This is morally unsustainable.

I have a great love for Prime Minister Netanyahu, as I have love for Bar, Haliva and Levi. They have dedicated their lives to the security and well being of Israel. I salute them as I call for them to retire. They had the misfortune to be overtaken by a reality too dismal for their imaginations. By generational definition their vision cannot cope with what their eyes are showing them. This holy task, to protect Israel and the Jews of the Diaspora, is now beyond their abilities. If we are too distracted to understand that in all its implications, then we should just listen to the blood of our brothers and sisters calling to us from the fields and towns surrounding Gaza. It is still calling. Enough is enough.